Sealy United Kingdom operates under licence from Sealy Incorporated in North Carolina, USA. The company's success in the UK started in 1974, following the acquisition by the Silentnight Group of local bedding and furniture company M Hackney & Co, in Aspatria, West Cumbria. In the beginning, the company's annual turnover was a mere £450,000, but Sealy quickly started to flourish and has since established itself among the top UK bed manufacturers and employs approximately 400 people, mainly from its own locality.